(YF3) choosing your sexual orientation

Undoubtedly there are pressures to avoid or participate in certain sexual practices. There is pressure on young people to engage in homosexual practices and also pressure to avoid such practices. ******* There are two main views concerning homosexuality. ******* VIEW 1 ******* Some say that homosexuals are made that way, in other words they have an unalterable homosexual orientation. Since many who once lived a homosexual life style have left that lifestyle and now lead a celibate or heterosexual lifestyle, this view is questionable at best. The fact that many of those who promote this lifestyle attempt to suppress any questioning of this view makes it all the more suspect. ******* VIEW 2 ******* Homosexuality is acquired. ************************************************************************************************************************** As of this date, 05-10-10, this folder contains 16 items. ******* item 1 CONSERVATIVE EDUCATORS GIVEN RUDE RECEPTION AT NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (NEA) MEETING ******* item 2 CANADA’S PRO-HOMOSEXUAL POLICIES QUESTIONED AT THE UNITED NATIONS ******* item 3 CURE FOR HOMOSEXUALITY ******* item 4 HOMOSEXUALS CAN BE CHANGED ******* item 5 GROUP PREPARES LEGAL CHALLENGE TO 'BORN GAY" THEORY ******* item 6 LESBIAN BOOK REVIEW (CHOOSING LESBIAN LIFESTYLE) ******* item 7 FROM A PFOX DAD ******* item 8 DR. PHIL WEIGHS IN ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION ******* item 9 THE GAY GENE: GOING, GOING...GONE ******* item 10 REASONS TO QUESTION HOMOSEXUALITY - POWERFUL EXPERT TESTIMONY IN MASSACHUSETTS ******* item 11 CHANGING MINDS ******* item 12 SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY ******* item 13 ONE PERCENT OF CANADIANS SAY THEY'RE HOMOSEXUAL ******* item 14 Book Review: IF YOU SEDUCE A STRAIGHT PERSON CAN YOU MAKE THEM GAY? By Dr. John De Cecco ******* item 15 BILLBOARDS, COUNSELLORS AND EX-GAYS: LET IT SHINE ******* item 16 TRANSGENDERISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER ************************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 1 CONSERVATIVE EDUCATORS GIVEN RUDE RECEPTION AT NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (NEA) MEETING ******* Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 09:03:53 -0500 ******* From: "Linda Harvey" ******* Although many of their policies call for tolerance and acceptance of diversity, NEA delegates reacted mostly with hostility and anger to a proposal to inform students about all their options regarding homosexuality. ******* A caucus of conservative educators called for “providing a full range of information and support services available on homosexuality” including the student’s right to choose not to engage in homosexual behavior, at the National Education Association convention in New Orleans July 1-7. ******* Sissy Jochmann, a 2nd grade teacher from the Pittsburgh area, addressed the delegates on the convention floor and received hisses and boos. With a thunderous chorus of “no” reverberating through the arena, the delegates voted “not to consider” the proposal. ******* In spite of the reaction and the fact that not one other delegate rose to support the proposal, Jochmann believed she did the right thing, and felt tremendously calm and blessed by the experience. “I really felt the Lord standing right beside me the whole time,” she said. ******* In her two-minute speech, Jochmann said, “My gay friends don’t have to agree with me for me to love them…Whatever anyone in this assembly has been led to believe, thousands of people leave homosexuality every year…They want to be free from those desires.” But too often, Jochmann said, students who are struggling with same sex attraction never hear about this. “Instead of being supported in their chosen ‘pursuit of happiness’, a politically correct pursuit is often imposed on them. The NEA should support them in their right to choose.” ******* The efforts of Jochmann and the Conservative Educators Caucus (CEC) were supported by friend Regina Griggs. CEC member Jeralee Smith helped develop the strategy with Jochmann and Griggs. ******* The caucus had about 35 members going into the convention and gained ten more members at the meeting. About 12 attended the New Orleans event. Jochmann hopes to increase this number at future conventions. After many years of receiving chilly responses, pro-life measures are finally gaining ground within NEA circles, she noted, and other pro-family issues such as those relating to homosexuality can hopefully gain support as well. ******* The NEA’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, by contrast, can point to wide support from the NEA. ******* For a listing of the recently-passed NEA policies that support homosexuality, bisexuality, cross-dressing and sex change surgery for both teachers and students, see http://www.nea-glc.org/recentaccomplishments.htm . ******* The Conservative Educators Caucus web site is at www.ceccentral.org ************************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 2 CANADA’S PRO-HOMOSEXUAL POLICIES QUESTIONED AT THE UNITED NATIONS ******* Geneva, Switzerland, June 11, 2003 ******* On June 10, in Geneva, Switzerland, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child heard a presentation from REAL Women of Canada, an NGO with consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN. REAL Women opposes the misleading homosexual campaigns being carried out in Canada, particularly in Quebec, Ontario and BC schools, and the adoption of children by homosexuals. ******* The Working Group Committee, associated with the High Commission for Human Rights meeting in Geneva, invited REAL Women to explain why the spirit of several articles of the Convention related to the UN Rights of the Child are not respected by Canada in regard to these issues. ******* Misleading campaigns in schools ******* The Convention on the Rights of the Child dictates that the interests of children must be the primary consideration for all governmental decisions. Governments, under the Convention, are also held responsible for protecting children from information harmful to their well being. Some Canadian schools, however, are encouraging school children to believe in unproven theories and invalid statistical studies on homosexuality. For example, in Quebec, the homosexual organization, Gai Ecoute, urges children to believe that 10% among them are homosexual for life, and states in its pamphlets and posters that homosexuality “is not catching, does not change, is like skin color….” Children are not informed that thousands of American, European and Asian ex-gays prove the contrary. There are many married and new parents who have acknowledged that their homosexual past was the result of false information or homosexual relations at a young age encouraged by activists. ******* The powerful homosexual lobby claims that homosexuality constitutes a healthy alternative to heterosexuality. Experts demonstrate, however, that many psychological troubles, illnesses and specific sexually transmitted diseases afflict this sexual minority. It is documented that almost one third of boys who adopt the homosexual lifestyle will be HIV positive or dead before the age of 30. They have the life span of a Canadian living in 1871. There is only 1% - 3% of the population which is homosexual, and a vast majority of AIDS sufferers in Canada are homosexual. The publisher and managing editor of the homosexual newspaper, Capital Xtra, in an article published in the September 27, 2002 issue, confirms that the homosexual lifestyle is much less healthy than that of straight men. The tragic health problems associated with the homosexual lifestyle were also acknowledged in an article in the March 2003 issue of the homosexual magazine, TO BE. ******* HOMOSEXUAL PARENTING ******* The UN Declaration on Human Rights notes that a family consists of a man and a woman. This position also forms a part of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN Convention on the Child recognizes, along with almost all of humanity, that the traditional family constitutes the fundamental unit of society and the natural environment in which children thrive best. The Committee was thus asked to insist that Canada (state party to the Convention) adhere to the Convention that the fundamental right of all children to a mother and a father, be respected. A 1996 Statistics Canada longitudinal study, disclosed that children thrive best in an environment consisting of their biological mother and father. Children who do not have this advantage are far more likely to experience out-of-wedlock pregnancy, poor school performance, early school drop-out and difficulties with the law, etc. Children have the right to the best chance in life. ******* A WORLD FIRST ******* The discussion of a country’s problem with homosexual pressure is a first for the UN Committee. Since its members are mandated to ensure that the Convention is respected, the Committee was urged by REAL Women to consult with experts able to counter the false theories of activists and homosexuals, and also able to explain invalid statistics used by some fifty American studies favorable to homosexual parenting. Studies that expose the problems with homosexual/lesbian parenting are being ignored in Canada, the UN Committee was advised. ******* The Canadian government will be asked to address these issues, among others, when it submits its official report to the Committee in Geneva in September 2003. ******* For further information: ******* C. Gwendolyn Landolt, National Vice President ******* Diane Watts, Researcher ******* (905) 731-5425, (905) 787-0348 (613) 236-4001 ************************************************************************************************************************* ******* item 3 CURE FOR HOMOSEXUALITY ******* From: "Robert A Jason" ******* Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:02:12 -0400 ******* Are people born homosexual? ******* New research has rekindled this smoldering debate and created a firestorm within academia, reports the London daily Independent. A study based on interviews with 200 men and women who claimed to have switched their homosexual preferences demonstrates some "gays" are capable of becoming "predominantly" heterosexual through psychotherapy. ******* "In some of the subjects, the reports of change in sexual orientation were substantial, credible and believable," said Robert Spitzer, the professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York who conducted the study. ******* Spitzer's research is published in the current issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior. ******* The 200 subjects, mostly from the U.S. and Canada, participated in "self control" therapy which entailed avoiding tempting situations, stopping erotic thoughts from developing or mixing socially with straight men and women in non-sexual situations. ******* According to the findings, all 143 men and 57 women claimed the therapy altered their view of the same sex to some extent. ******* "The current, politically correct view is that this therapy never works. I think it doesn't work a lot of the time but in some people it does," said Spitzer. "I do believe that people who are bothered by their homosexuality have a right to have this therapy." ******* Spitzer is considered an authority on the subject. In 1973, he was instrumental in having homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental illnesses. He maintains most homosexuals are happy with their sexual preference, but a minority are not and seek to change. ******* Critics of "reparative therapy" pan the study as flawed and argue the technique is only effective in getting people to resist their instincts. ******* Spitzer disagrees. ******* "This study provides evidence that some gay men and lesbians are able to also change the core features of sexual orientation. Almost all of the participants reported substantial changes in the core aspects of sexual orientation, not merely overt behavior," he said. ******* John Bancroft, a sexologist at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute in Bloomington said he wanted to know the specifics of what the therapy involved. ******* "At best, it has been a long process, with a substantial minority still continuing in ongoing therapy after many years," he said. ******* Bancroft is also suspicious about the sample used because it consisted of men and women who sought treatment – primarily from religious organizations – because of their religious beliefs. ******* Supporters meanwhile hail the research for dispelling the notion homosexuality is "hard-wired" at birth, and therefore irreversible. ******* Related special offers: ******* Spinning sex with twisted research ******* WND probe exposes 'gay' rights' secret agenda ******* © 2003 ******* To view the entire article, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34960 ************************************************************************************************************************* ******* item 4 HOMOSEXUALS CAN BE CHANGED ******* Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 09:21:00 -0500 ******* From: "Linda Harvey" ******* Telegraph Group Limited (TGL) publishes The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator. ******* Going straight http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news(Filed: 10/12/2003) ******* New research published last week claims that homosexuals and lesbians who undergo psychiatric therapy can change their sexuality. Charles Laurence in New York meets three of the study's 'converts' ******* From his earliest memories, Jeff Johnston was one of the girls. Before he was five, he would shun the rough and tumble of boys' play, and stay in the house with his mother and sisters. He looked liked his mum and, relatives would say, acted just like her, too. ******* At seven, he ran away, terrified, from several encounters" with older boys. At high school, he joined the girl gang as a "peer" rather than a suitor, and realised that he was homosexual while reading pornographic magazines, and finding the men in the pictures far more attractive than the women. ******* But these days Johnston, 40, is married with three sons: Nathaniel, six, and Aden and Brendon, twins of three. "Gay, I was ashamed and afraid," he says. ******* "There was a constant conflict between my Christian faith and my feelings, I always wanted a family and children in the normal way, and I was terrified of Aids. Now, I have a wonderful marriage and my children, like those of every dad, are brilliant and beautiful." ******* Johnston is one of the 200 former homosexuals and lesbians who took part in a study by Dr Robert Spitzer, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, New York. The publication of his findings, in the US journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, has created an uproar. ******* Dr Spitzer concluded that homosexuals can change their sexuality. His study, first revealed at a conference in 2001 but published only last week, created even more of an impact among psychiatrists and homosexual organisations because, in 1973, he had been instrumental in deleting homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association's list of official mental disorders. ******* That decision - the foundation of the belief that homosexuality is nature, not nurture, and therefore beyond free will and moral choice - is at the heart of the "gay liberation" movement. ******* But his new study found that 78 per cent of males and 95 per cent of females who voluntarily underwent the "reparative" or psychiatric therapy reported a change in their sexuality. ******* And of the 143 men and 57 women who participated, 66 per cent of males and 44 per cent of females had achieved what he called "good heterosexual functioning". ******* This he defined as being in a sustained, loving heterosexual relationship, getting "emotional satisfaction" to a point of seven on a 10-point scale, having heterosexual sex at least once a month, and never, or rarely, fantasising about someone of the same gender during heterosexual sex. ******* "My conclusion is that the door is open," Dr Spitzer said. "I came to this study as a sceptic - I believed that a homosexual, whether born or made, was a homosexual and that to consider their orientation a matter of choice was wrong. But the fact is that if I found even one person who could change, the door is open, and a change in sexual orientation is possible." ******* Dr Spitzer has said repeatedly that as an "atheist Jew" his only interest in the issue is scientific truth, adding that an orthodoxy which forbids acknowledgement of the possibility of change is as flawed as that which labels homosexuality an act of will and morally wrong. ******* But gay rights groups insist that Spitzer is a "cultural conservative" who is supporting "therapies" for changing behaviour which are doing psychological damage to troubled homosexuals. ******* According to Joan Garry, the executive director of Glaad, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation: "No research nor findings should have any bearing on whether people - gay, lesbian, bisexual or straight - are treated fairly. ******* Spitzer's conclusions are based on a self-selected sample of people who are so troubled by their sexual orientation that they will go to any lengths to try to 'change' it." ******* In London, Peter Tatchell, a gay rights campaigner, said: "Everyone I have spoken to who has been through this so-called treatment says it has not only failed to convert them to heterosexuality, but it has caused them immense psychological and emotional harm." ******* Both the scientists and the campaigners complain that Dr Spitzer's sample of 200 people is bogus because most came from Christian fundamentalist communities and were simply tormented by the social pressure brought to bear against their natural sexual orientation. ******* Dr Spitzer agrees that the participants were "highly motivated" but that none the less they managed to change to his definition of "good heterosexual functioning". And in their own words, homosexual "converts" describe social pressure as only part of the cause of their misery and faith as only part of the cure. ******* "Changing was a long process that took many years, and at the heart of it was relationship issues," said Richard Cohen, 50, who became a psychotherapist and now works with troubled homosexuals. "To make behavioural change, you have to go into the past and discover the wounds that created the problem. ******* "This is what I found for myself: I had a fear of my father, an angry man who frightened me; my mother was overbearing and I was too close to her; I had an older brother who was physically abused - beaten - by my father and who in turn abused me; my uncle saw my needs, and then polluted our relationship with sexual abuse; and I was a sensitive kid who was bullied at school." ******* Mr Cohen, a married father of three children aged 20, 18 and eight, says the key to change is to fit into gender roles that have nothing to do with sex: "A man must first be able to be a man with men, to find his gender identity. When he does, opposites attract and he will want a woman." ******* Ashley, 47, was a lesbian committed not only to sex with women but to the "activist" lifestyle in Los Angeles, until she started therapy in her late 20s. Now she is married, with a son of 10, and was among the women studied by Dr Spitzer. ******* But although she started going to church during her therapy and says that her faith and the church community helped her change her orientation, it was a search for emotional stability that turned her from her lesbian lovers. ******* "I knew as a teenager that I was a lesbian, and at 18 the magic moment came and I acted on my feelings with a woman 13 years older," she said. "For years I was totally committed to the lifestyle. But I was not happy. Some of my relationships lasted three or four years, and my family was tolerant and I would go home with my lovers. But something was wrong." ******* Ashley realised in her 20s that her lesbian community seemed unable to offer calm, stability and a sense of security. "Every relationship was so intense," she said. "There was anger and jealousy and I could not bear to be away from my lover for even a few minutes. ******* There was also violence and a great deal of alcohol abuse. These things - unhappiness, alcoholism - are symptoms of people functioning in a way they are not designed to, and, yes, I think that is morally wrong." ******* Ashley found herself turning away from women for sex after realising in psychotherapy that, all along, she had been looking for a mother figure. ******* Her mother had been an emotionally unstable woman who would one minute be an attentive, safeguarding parent, and the next "absent". Her father, meanwhile, was a hard-working provider whom she hardly knew. ******* "I was looking for my mother in all the wrong women. When I realised that, I slowly started to find men more attractive, or at least I found the guy who is now my husband attractive," she said. "And I simply no longer want to have sex with women." ******* For Jeff Johnston, the transition to physical attraction to the opposite sex was not as immediate. Even with the woman he fell in love with, Judy, with whom he recently celebrated his 10th wedding anniversary, the chemistry was elusive in the beginning. ******* "It was terrifying, horrible," he said. "Our dating relationship was really rough. I was in my early 30s, and I was trying to do stuff that guys do when they are 16 or 18. ******* "But now it's wonderful," he says, describing how the couple found true happiness after their wedding. "We had a two-year honeymoon." ************************************************************************************************************************* ******* item 5 GROUP PREPARES LEGAL CHALLENGE TO 'BORN GAY" THEORY ******* By Lawrence Morahan CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer ******* October 29, 2003 ******* (CNSNews.com) - A coalition representing former homosexuals is developing a legal strategy to litigate on behalf of people who challenge the proposition that individuals are "born gay." ******* The group also is seeking to promote the idea, particularly among schoolchildren, that people can overcome unwanted homosexual attractions. ******* Arthur Goldberg, president of Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality and co-director of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality, said the coalition intends to stress the concept of diversity, a concept he said homosexual advocacy groups have misrepresented to promote the concept that people can't change. ******* "We want to make sure that people understand the diversity, that this is an open forum. We want toleration of those who have been able to successfully change and get their rights recognized as real rights," Goldberg said. ******* Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a professor at Grove City College, Pa., and a supporter of the Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, or PFOX, said the coalition aims to correctly portray the current state of research concerning sexual orientation. ******* "There are two broad views about the origins of homosexuality - one being related to environmental factors and one being primarily related to genetic factors," said Throckmorton. "The truth is, the science on the subject is so unclear that we can't really say with certainty that we know what the role of any of those factors are." ******* Since homosexuality cannot be identified by immutable genetic traits, such as skin or hair color, spokesmen for the coalition said policymakers should be allowed to hear that thousands of people who used to consider themselves homosexuals now are living as heterosexuals. ******* Coalition members also want to see an end to what they consider reverse discrimination by institutions. Since homosexuality is no longer considered a disorder, neither should recovery from homosexuality be considered a disorder, they said. ******* Goldberg described so-called ex-gays, who he said are fighting a two-front war, as "the most repressed minority in the world." ******* "They're fighting an internal battle with their own unfilled emotional needs on the one side, and on the other, they're fighting society, which is telling them to accept it," Goldberg said. ******* Indeed, institutions that suppress the message could put themselves in legal jeopardy. According to Goldberg, schools and universities that tell questioning individuals homosexuality is genetic may be liable in lawsuits if clients endanger themselves or others by engaging in sex acts on the advice of school counselors or psychologists. ******* Data show that an individual's environment clearly plays a role in forming sexual attitudes, Throckmorton said. Also, there may be some factors that would be loosely called genetic that influence sexual choice in some way. ******* "But to say that we have any kind of clarity about the way that would occur is just wrong," Throckmorton said. ******* The message that homosexuality is determined genetically could give homosexual advocacy organizations more ammunition in calls for special legislation and enactment of hate crimes laws. ******* Conservative groups said they would use same-sex marriage as an issue to rally voters in the 2004 presidential election. ******* Mark Mead, a spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans, a homosexual advocacy group within the GOP, discounted the message that homosexuals can change and claimed telling people they can is not likely to be helpful. ******* "Most of the people I know who claim to have changed usually end up getting caught in gay bars or in gay relationships. I think that message has been dismissed by most folks with common sense," Mead said. ******* But Throckmorton said the coalition's primary objective was to reach policymakers, particularly in the field of education, "because so much of what the schools are teaching concerning sexual orientation is really suspicious from a scientific point of view." ******* Many school authorities have adopted the "born gay - gay gene theory" as fact, ignoring a considerable scientific controversy over that theory, Throckmorton said. ******* "Not just among evangelicals and secularists, but within the scientific community, there are many people who simply don't accept that the data support that theory," Throckmorton said. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 6 LESBIAN BOOK REVIEW (CHOOSING LESBIAN LIFESTYLE) ******* From: "PFOX" ******* date Sun, 21 Dec 2003 22:57:15 +0000 ******* by Dr. Lillian Faderman ******* In 1992, the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of the American Library Association picked "Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers" by Dr. Lillian Faderman, as their non-fiction book of the year. This award is made for books “of exceptional merit relating to gay/lesbian experience.” (American Libraries. Sept. 1992, pgs. 704, 715; this is the official publication of the American Library Association). This book also won a prestigious, gay Lambda Literary Award (Lammy) in 1991. (The Advocate, 8-17-99, pg. 74. The Advocate is the leading gay news magazine, the gay equivalent of Time or Newsweek) Faderman is convinced that lesbianism, both in its causes and in its various manifestations, is created by social factors, rather than being of biological origin: ******* “As will be revealed in the pages of this book, in the debate between the ‘essentialists’ (who believe that one is born a lesbian and there have always been lesbians in the past just as there are lesbians today) and the ‘social constructionist’… my own research has caused me to align myself on the side of the social constructionists.” (Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, pg. 8; NY: Penguin, 1991) ******* Especially in chapters eight and nine of this book, Dr. Faderman gives numerous examples of women who were completely heterosexual, but who actually chose to become lesbians. On page 207, Dr. Faderman gives one such example: ******* “As one radical feminist, who divorced her physician husband in 1974 to become a lesbian, characterized it, lesbianism was seen to be ‘the only noble choice a committed feminist could make.’” (Ibid., pg. 207) ******* Another noted lesbian, Rita Mae Brown (author of the best-selling lesbian book, "Rubyfruit Jungle" and a former lover of tennis pro Martina Navratilova) also declares her lesbianism as a choice: ******* “I became a lesbian because the culture that I live in is violently anti-woman. How could I, a woman, participate in a culture that denies my humanity? To give a man support and love before giving it to a sister is to support that culture, that power system. “ (Ibid.,) ******* Dr. Faderman then makes the most telling point from her research: ******* In this respect, the 1970’s offer a prime example of sexuality as a social construct. It was demonstrated in that decade how the spirit of an era could influence sexual behavior in large numbers of people at least as much as those other factors that had long been regarded as determining sexuality.” (Ibid.) ******* Lesbians are made, not born, a lesbian singer at “womyn’s” festivals and music concerts recalls, “We know about ten women who were straight before they came to the concert” and became lesbians “about two weeks later. The concert just blew their minds.”(Ibid., pgs. 220f) ******* Other well-known gays are aware of Faderman’s research. Dr. Simon LeVay, a research scientist who has claimed that gay male brains are different from heterosexual male brains, notes Faderman’s views: ******* “Faderman believes that sexual orientation is a product of life experiences—in Odd Girls she takes the time to cite no less than eleven scientific studies that repudiate a physiological basis for homosexuality.” (City of Friends, by Simon LeVay and Elisabeth Nonas; Cambridge, MA; The MIT Press, 1995, pg. 193) ******* Faderman and PFLAG ******* In the February 6, 1996 issue of The Advocate, Dr. Faderman criticizes PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays) for their public “born gay” stance. PFLAG is made up mostly of parents of “gay” children. These parents are desperate to be told that they did not make parenting mistakes, which caused their children to become gay. (The Advocate, 2-6-96, pg. 72) ******* Dr. Faderman’s column elicited a surprising response from Sandra Gillis, at that time, Executive Director of PFLAG: ******* “If Lillian Faderman had ever bothered to read PFLAG’s latest publication, Why Ask Why: Addressing the Research on Homosexuality and Biology, before slamming PFLAG in her Latest column, she might have realized that we are echoing each other’s words, not ‘parting company.’ ******* Despite Faderman’s claims, PFLAG has approached the biological research on homosexuality with reservation. We have outlined three primary concerns: We take the possibility of the abuse of scientific research seriously; we are concerned that some of the research oversimplifies our understanding of human sexuality and may tend to limit our understanding of the cultural and social factors that shape all human sexuality…” (The Advo-cate, 3-5-96, pg. 8) ******* If there are “cultural and social factors that shape all human sexuality,” then one is not born gay; various factors can cause changes in human sexuality (a fixed, “sexual orientation” is an incorrect term). ******* In another Advocate column (4-29-97, pg. 80), Dr. Faderman lists a number of prominent lesbians. Jill Johnston wrote the lesbian classic, Lesbian Nation. Holly Near is a lesbian folk singer. Jan Clausen founded a lesbian magazine. Susie Bright and JoAnn Loulan are authors of books on lesbian sexuality. But what else do they have in common? They have all spontaneously fallen in love with men! ******* Identity Politics ******* Dr. Lillian Faderman has “won the prestigious Monette/Horwitz Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation for her life contributions to gay and lesbian history.” ( The Advocate, 6-22-99, pg. 127). Note Faderman’s Analysis of the dishonest “identity politics” used by gay activists: ******* “And we continue to demand rights (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, domestic partnerships, the right to marry), ignoring the fact that human sexuality is fluid and flexible, acting as though we are all stuck in our category forever and thus we need to assure its livability. Is a movement even possible if we don’t operate under this fiction of the consistency and inevitability of identity? ******* …………………………………………………………………………… ******* The narrow categories of identity politics are obviously deceptive. They hide the complex, multifaceted nature of human beings. But the undeniable successes of identity politics have made life easier for many of us…That being so, how can we not feel dis-comfort or loss or annoyance when anything or anyone reminds us how simplistic and unstable the notion of identity truly is?”(Ibid.) ******* Faderman’s Fears ******* In an interview with the lesbian magazine, Lesbian News, Dr. Faderman lays out her point of view on fluid sexuality and its future implications: ******* “I must confess that I am both elated and terrified by the possibilities of ‘a bisexual moment.’ I’m elated because I truly believe that bisexuality is the natural human condition. But I’m much less happy when I think of the possibility of huge numbers of homosexuals (two thirds of the women who identify as lesbian, for example) running off to explore the heterosexual side of their bisexual potential and, as a result, decimating our political ranks.” (The Advocate,9-5-95, pg. 43) ******* ……………………………………………………………………………………… ******* "The concept of gay and lesbian identity may be nothing but a social construct, but it has been crucial, enabling us to become a political movement and demand the rights that are due to us as a minority. What becomes of our political movement if we openly acknowledge that sexuality is flexible and fluid, that gay and lesbian does not signify ‘a people’ but rather a ‘sometime behavior’?”(Ibid.) ******* In other words, when the public learns the truth about the myth of “born gay,” then what will happen to “gay identity politics?” ******* To subscribe to this list, send a blank email to: PFOX-subscribe@topica.com ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 7 FROM A PFOX DAD ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 20:51:58 +0000 ******* Well, if you oppose the homosexual agenda we have a great new weapon - -free speech. I proposed last week to our local school board that an ex-gay be allowed to present the concept that homosexuality is a choice that people make. And given that it is a choice and not an immutable, genetic trait that come diversity day at the school, I or another ex-gay should be allowed to speak on the topic. Seeing as how there already was a school panel of gay men and women, that I should be allowed to present along with a psychologist, a pastor, rabbi, or priest and a counselor the concept that if you don't want to be gay, you don't have to be. Or as I said, "Feelings are often misleading, and just because you have them, doesn't mean that you have to act upon, especially when you consider violent behavior, alcohol consumption or anger." The verdict: the school cancelled the homosexual element of Cultural Diversity day. The reasoning: it is too controversial at this time to discuss and therefore we are removing the gay portion from Cultural Diversity Day. ******* Nice of them. This is not what I had hoped for. I am not sure that I can be called an activist but I have so many good parents involved that there is pressure on this school to include ex-gay materials. I had one teacher say that I was promoting hate speech and, boy, am I getting tired of hearing that. So I got a bit irritated and said, "If I'm promoting hate speech, which I am not, then Students Against Drunk Driving is an organization to rival the KKK." And then I sat down. ******* I had hoped that I would have been denied, I had hoped that I would have been allowed to present my ex-gay story, but in the end, there is nothing. Although the school still has a GSA, it is becoming less and less all the time as kids figure out that there are alternatives to homosexuality. So it is a small victory. At least some of the people who attended the parents' meeting learned that there is an alternative to the gay life. So that is a good thing. ******* So that's it. Back to neutral. ******* But it should give parents hope when they hear the word "Diversity Day." *************************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 8 DR. PHIL WEIGHS IN ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 20:48:26 +0000 ******* By Warren Throckmorton, PhD ******* America’s newest diet counselor and author of the Ultimate Weight Solution has weighed in with his views of sexual orientation. What do the scales say? While Dr. Phil McGraw has pretty hefty advice on some matters, he’s definitely a lightweight on this one. Let’s get real and I’ll explain. ******* Dr. Phil’s website recently posted a question from a woman whose 22 year old daughter was involved in a lesbian relationship. The reader wondered if her daughter could have learned this behavior, thus allowing a possibility that her current lesbian relationship could be a phase. Dr. Phil’s reply: “Homosexuality is not a learned behavior. A sexual orientation is inherited; you are wired that way.” He acknowledges that people can experiment with behavior but if they are “really gay” then they will “find a place in that life and in that community.” ******* As one who spends time studying such matters, this advice puzzled me. Surely, Dr. Phil knows that the research concerning genetic factors in homosexuality is inconclusive. Has he never heard of LUGs (lesbians until graduation) that recently populate college campuses? If anything the research shows an environmental component must be involved in the development of homosexual orientation. To wit, a recent study of genetically identical twins in the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology found that the participants were quite dissimilar when it came to sexual orientation. Consider the study’s male identical twin pairs: if one twin was gay, then only 20% of the time was the other twin gay. Female twins were alike only 24% of the time. With 76 - 80% discordance rates, environment must play some, and I suspect, pretty significant role in creating the differences. ******* Dr. Phil’s advice to the lesbian’s mother is even more puzzling when you consider his new role as America’s weight loss guru. Why? Well, both body type and weight loss are widely known to have a significant genetic component. For instance, a recent study reported in the International Journal of Obesity Related Disorders found that when put on a weight loss program identical twins were highly related (.85 to .88) in the amount of weight and body fat lost. Ever wonder why some people lose weight easily and some don’t? The research points more clearly to genetic factors than to type of diet program chosen. By his sexual orientation standard of genetic influence, Dr. Phil should be advising people who have trouble losing weight to accept themselves and “find a place in that life and in that community.” ******* I think Dr. Phil wants to have his sugar free cake and eat it too. He says homosexuality is inherited and unlearned but the evidence points to a weak genetic influence. However, he promotes the Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge complete with a book, food guide and online “booty camp” to aggressively change a trait that is highly related to genetic factors. Why the difference? In today’s media market, it might hurt ratings if he came out with a book called, the Ultimate Sexual Orientation Change Challenge. ******* Changing from gay to straight may not be easy or culturally acceptable but one cannot entirely blame one’s genes for that fact. Genetics undoubtedly influence temperament and body type a great deal, but in most areas we don’t acquiesce to the helpless notion that we are solely and mindlessly the product of genetic determination. Why are so many willing to cast away freedom when it comes to discussions of sexual attraction? ******* I think it is a fine idea to manage one’s eating in accord with one’s beliefs and health goals. Why does this culture think it is so bizarre to do the same with sexuality? It surprises me that a person with the no nonsense approach of Dr. Phil would succumb to such blatant rejection of personal autonomy. ******* Dr. Phil may be helping obese people lose weight but there is no reason for him to cause people struggling with unwanted homosexual feelings to lose hope. ******* © 2003-2004 Warren Throckmorton, PhD. All Rights Reserved ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 9 THE GAY GENE: GOING, GOING...GONE ******* from http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS00D2 ******* SUMMARY: ******* Using "biology" as a stamp of legitimacy, homosexual activists have pushed for special rights, from sex-partner subsidies to "gay marriage" to adoption. There is no scientific evidence to support such claims, and it is wrong and dangerously misleading to say that people are born homosexual and cannot change. ******* by: Mrs. Yvette C. Schneider ******* Many misconceptions exist about the supposedly inborn nature of complex behaviors such as homosexuality. Most of these are due to media reports that present scientific studies in selective sound bites. ******* In reality, no scientific studies show an inborn cause for any such complex behaviors. In this day of shirking responsibility and blaming anything but ourselves for our actions, claims that someone is genetically or chemically structured to engage in dangerous or antisocial activities find increasing appeal. ******* People have asserted that they cannot keep themselves from smoking, drinking, or even adultery, because they were born with uncontrollable proclivities. While it is true that we are born with fallen natures that incline us toward any number of vices, it is an error to contend that an inclination is "uncontrollable." We can make choices and are not hopelessly forced to engage in illicit or dangerous practices of any sort. ******* When the question of the origin of homosexuality arises, homosexual activists tend to resort to the often-heard refrain "I was born gay." There are even T-shirts sold at homosexual functions and bookstores that say, "Hey Mom, Thanks for the Genes." The idea that homosexuality is a predetermined condition that originates in the womb also has been increasingly embraced by society as a whole. A February 2000 Harris Poll of 1,010 randomly selected adults found that the number of people who believe "sexual orientation" "is more dependent on the genes you are born with" has increased 6 percent since 1995. Thirty-five percent of the people polled believe that homosexuality is "genetic," versus 29 percent who held that opinion in 1995. Fifty-two percent believe that "what you learn and experience" causes homosexuality, as opposed to 65 percent who believed that in 1995.[1] ******* But what do we really know about the science of behavior? Not much. Scientific studies have done more to confirm the complexities of human behavior than they have to isolate specific causes. ******* THE HAMER STUDY ******* In 1993, geneticist Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute released a study that claimed to have found a genetic component to some instances of male homosexuality.[2] That is very different from saying that he found a gene that inevitably determines that a man will be homosexual. Hamer never claimed to have done that. He studied 40 pairs of brothers who were homosexual, and hypothesized that a certain genetic marker on the X chromosome was at least partially responsible for their homosexuality. Since men have an X and a Y chromosome, and they inherit their X chromosome from their mothers, Hamer theorized that the mother may be the carrier of the gene determining homosexuality in their sons. It would not manifest in the mothers' lives, but they would pass that gene on to their sons. ******* Hamer found that of the families he interviewed that had more than one son who was homosexual, a significantly larger number had a maternal uncle or a maternal aunt's son who was also homosexual than showed a paternal linkage. This would suggest a maternal linkage for male homosexuality in some cases. Finding homosexual brothers who had homosexual maternal uncles would indicate that somewhere along the mother's family line, the gene determining male homosexuality was most likely present. ******* This type of study is known as a gene "linkage study." In linkage studies, the researcher looks for a trait that appears frequently in an extended family, then checks to see if there is a DNA segment, or marker, on a particular chromosome that contains a variation that is the same in the members of the family with that trait. If the researcher finds that the same marker is present consistently in the family members who have that trait, he assumes that the marker he is studying is either close to or is the gene that codes for that trait. Such studies have been successful in locating genes that cause all sorts of diseases like Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy. Linkage studies, however, have not found genes that code for complex behaviors. ******* Dean Hamer's study targeted the q28 marker on the X chromosome. It found the same variants on 33 of the 40 sets of homosexual brothers. From that, Hamer concluded that some male homosexuality was influenced by gene Xq28. ******* This conclusion raised many questions, some of which came from Hamer himself. Why were there seven sets of homosexual brothers who did not display the Xq28 variants? he asked in his study. One of the answers he included was the possibility of "nongenetic sources of variation in sexual orientation."[3] ******* Other questions that have been raised include the following: Does the Xq28 gene actually control the direction of sexual desire? Were the methods Hamer used scientifically sound? Did the heterosexual male relatives have the Xq28 variants, as well? What is the rate of the Xq28 variants in a randomly selected control group unrelated to the homosexual brothers? (Most linkage studies do not check to see if the DNA segments in question are present in people without the trait.) Why was there no control group of heterosexual brothers? ******* The more questions asked, the more doubt that is cast on using Dean Hamer's study and his conclusions to advance any particular theory. Hamer wrote in his report, "We have now produced evidence that one form of male homosexuality is preferentially transmitted through the maternal side and is genetically linked to chromosomal region Xq28."[4] In fact, the Office of Research Integrity of the Department of Health and Human Services investigated Hamer when one of his research assistants claimed that Hamer withheld findings that were inconsistent with his conclusions. The National Cancer Institute transferred him to the National Institutes of Health, and the results of the investigation were never released. ******* One of the earmarks of a scientific study's accuracy is its replication by other scientific studies. One study alone does not prove anything. Hamer wrote in his conclusion, "As with all linkage studies, replication and confirmation of our results is essential." The findings of one study must be reproduced in another study to determine its accuracy. Hamer's study of Xq28 has not been replicated. ******* SIMILAR STUDY, DIFFERENT RESULTS ******* Drs. George Rice and George Ebers of the University of Western Ontario and Stanford University did attempt to reproduce Hamer's Xq28 results in a study of their own. Their study was released in April 1999 in Science magazine, the same magazine that printed Hamer's study in 1993. Rice and Ebers failed to reproduce Hamer's results. They concluded, "These results do not support an X-linked gene underlying male homosexuality." [5] ******* Rice and Ebers studied the Xq28 in 52 pairs of brothers who were both homosexual. They found that only about 50 percent shared the same variants. Their results were nowhere near what Hamer had found in his study. The researchers concluded "It is unclear why our results are so discrepant from Hamer's original study. Because our study was larger than that of Hamer et al., we certainly had adequate power to detect a genetic effect as large as was reported in that study. Nonetheless, our data do not support the presence of a gene of large effect influencing sexual orientation at position Xq28." [6] ******* That may be true, but these researchers did not follow the same criteria that Hamer used. It is unclear from Rice and Ebers's study how many of the homosexual brothers had homosexual maternal uncles, or homosexual male cousins from their mothers' sisters. The presence of male homosexuality along the maternal line is required to attempt to prove that a certain type of male homosexuality is the result of a gene on the X chromosome. Nevertheless, while this study did not directly disprove Hamer's study, it did show the complexities involved in trying to pin the homosexuality of brothers on genetic factors. ******* In the March 1993 edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry (AGP), Drs. William Byne and Bruce Parsons examined past and current claims and concluded that "there is no evidence at present to substantiate a biologic theory. The appeal of current biologic explanations for sexual orientation may derive more from dissatisfaction with the present status of psychosocial explanations than from a substantiating body of experimental data."[7] ******* Ironically, this important review is in the very same AGP edition that includes a highly publicized study of lesbian twins. Conducted by J. Michael Bailey and Richard C. Pillard, two researchers who made news in 1991 with a male twins study with similar results,[8] the lesbian study concludes that about half of the lesbians in the sample with identical twins had a twin who was lesbian.[9] Thus, the authors surmise that lesbianism may have at least a partly genetic origin. ******* Both studies by Bailey and Pillard, however, are flawed. The twins were recruited through advertisements in partisan homosexual publications, which, presumably, are read mainly by those who identify with the aims of the homosexual rights movement. Also, the twins were raised in the same household. Research strongly indicates that environmental factors play a crucial part in gender-identity formation. (See, for instance, the review of environmental studies in Dr. Joseph Nicolosi's Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1991).) ******* The Bailey-Pillard studies of non-twin siblings showed a frequency rate for homosexual siblings similar to that of adoptive siblings with no shared genetic inheritance whatever. Also, nowhere are the unique psychological dynamics of twins taken into account, nor are other factors such as age at the earliest sexual experiences or whether or not one or both of the twins ever was sexually molested. Finally, the fact that nearly half of the homosexual twins' identical siblings were heterosexual should dampen the hopes of homosexual activists that sexual orientation is genetically based. If it were genetic, then 100 percent of the twins would be homosexual. ******* THE BRAIN STUDIES ******* Another highly publicized 1991 study was done by former Salk Institute researcher Simon LeVay, who studied a cluster of neurons known as INAH3 (the third interstitial hypothalamus) in the brains of 35 male cadavers.[10] Contrasting 19 known homosexuals with 16 supposedly heterosexual men, LeVay found that the homosexuals generally had smaller clusters. But one of the many flaws of this study is its extremely small sample size and his failure to identify a control group. Also, LeVay did not actually know the orientation of the "heterosexual" cadavers; he assumed they were all heterosexual, even though six had died of AIDS. ******* The study also included major exceptions. Three of the "heterosexuals" had clusters smaller than the mean size for the homosexuals; three of the homosexuals had larger clusters than the mean size for "heterosexuals." Furthermore, it is unclear what role the nodes play, if any, in sexual orientation. Variations may be the result, not the cause, of sexual activity or of AIDS-related brain damage. ******* Another study (Allen and Gorski, 1992) shows a pattern of different sizes of the brain's anterior commissure between a group of heterosexual men and a group of women and homosexual men. But as William Byne and Bruce Parsons point out, this study has "many of the same interpretive difficulties as LeVay's." These include a "tremendous" number of exceptions, such as the fact that 27 of 30 homosexual men had anterior commissures that "fell within the range established by 30 heterosexual men."[11] ******* Not many studies have been conducted on lesbian heritability, although researchers have used twin studies like the one mentioned above to try to determine whether there may be a biologic influence to lesbianism. Hamer writes, "The best recent study suggests that female sexual identification is more a matter of environment than heredity."[12] That study was done by Australian behavioral geneticist Nicolas Martin and Northwestern University psychologist Michael Bailey.[13] Using a national registry of twins in Australia, rather than recruiting twins through advertisements in homosexual publications, they studied 1,912 women between the ages of 17 and 50. They found no difference in the rate of lesbianism in monozygotic (identical) or dyzogotic (fraternal) twins. If there were a genetic factor to lesbianism, the incidence of shared lesbianism would be 100 percent in monozygotic twins, who have identical genetic makeup, as opposed to dyzogotic twins, who share about 50 percent of their genetic code. Hamer wrote, "The results showed that for women the main influence on sexual orientation was the shared environment--being raised in the same household by the same parent--while genes seemed to count hardly at all."[14] ******* In a joint research venture, Hamer's partner, molecular geneticist Angela Pattatucci, found that lesbianism's pattern in families was just like that of male homosexuality.[15] A woman whose sister was a lesbian had a 6 percent chance of also being a lesbian. Astonishingly, the daughter of a lesbian had a 33 percent chance of being a lesbian. This result is genetically impossible. A mother and her child cannot be more genetically similar than two sisters. "But the pattern we observed could mean only one thing: being a lesbian, or a nonheterosexual woman, was 'culturally transmitted,' not inherited," Hamer wrote.[16] ******* Biochemist Neil Whitehead, in his book My Genes Made Me Do It!, writes, "Science has not yet discovered any genetically dictated behavior in humans. So far, genetically dictated behaviors of the one-gene-one-trait variety have been found only in very simple organisms. The closest thing to a genetically-caused human behavior that science has come up with in humans so far (aggression in Dutch men related to a mutation of one gene), is far too responsive to counseling and varied in its expression to be genetically determined. This raises the obvious question: is there really any such thing as a genetically-caused human behavior?" [17] ******* Science published an article in 1994 that included the following statement: "Time and time again, scientists have claimed that particular genes or chromosomal regions are associated with behavioral traits, only to withdraw their findings when they were not replicated. 'Unfortunately,' says Yale's [Dr. Joel] Gelernter, 'it's hard to come up with many' findings linking specific genes to complex human behaviors that have been replicated. 'All were announced with great fanfare; all were greeted unskeptically in the popular press; all are now in disrepute.'" [18] ******* THE STEIN CRITIQUE ******* Edward Stein, Ph.D., homosexual activist and author of The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation, critically examines the research of both Hamer and LeVay that claims a biological origin to homosexuality.[19] In an interview with the Advocate (a homosexual magazine), Stein said, "There are serious problems with the science itself. ... My training had taught me that a lot of what was being said was, well, highly unscientific." [20] ******* While a number of Stein's criticisms are similar to those stated above, Stein also explains in his book that none of the researchers studying hypothesized biological origins of homosexuality has proven direct causation, although in some circumstances they claim to have done just that. Hamer, as mentioned before, actually concluded in his report that he had found evidence of the transmission of "one form of male homosexuality" through the maternal line. Hamer's book on the biology of behavior is subtitled The Search for the Gay Gene, [21] implying that such a gene could possibly exist, an assumption that Stein firmly refutes: "Genes in themselves cannot directly specify any behavior or psychological phenomenon. Instead, genes direct a particular pattern of RNA synthesis, which in turn may influence the development of psychological dispositions and the expression of behaviors. There are necessarily many intervening pathways between a gene and a disposition or a behavior, and even more intervening variables between a gene and a pattern that involves both thinking and behaving. The terms 'gay gene' and 'homosexual gene' are, therefore, without meaning. No one has presented evidence in support of such a simple and direct link between genes and sexual orientation." [22] ******* Stein criticizes LeVay for concluding in his study that "sexual orientation in humans is amenable to study at the biological level," as well as for making even stronger claims to the press. For example, LeVay is quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1991 in an article that states, "Psychological literature is replete with material suggesting that male homosexuality is triggered by relationships with an overly protective mother or with a distant, even hostile father. 'Here is a whole other way of looking at the question,' says LeVay. 'These children may already be determined to become homosexual or heterosexual. The development plan that is laid out for them may be what causes them to develop certain troubled relationships with their parents.'" [23] ******* Stein writes in his book, "LeVay has at best shown that there is a correlation between INAH-3 and sexual orientation; he has not, as he admits when he is careful, shown any causation. Further, and relatedly, he has no evidence that biological factors directly affect sexual orientation. Even if he could prove that INAH-3 size and sexual orientation are perfectly correlated in his sample population (and I have argued that he fails to do so), this would not establish any direct causal account of homosexuality." [24] ******* There is increasing debate among homosexual activists as to whether or not they should even be advocating the idea that homosexuality is genetic. It was once thought to be politically expedient to say, "I can't help my attractions. I was born this way." Stein told the Advocate, ******* Many gay people want to use this research to promote gay rights. If gay people are 'born that way,' then discrimination against them must be wrong. ... A gay or lesbian person's public identity, sexual behaviors, romantic relationships, or decisions to raise children are all choices. No theory suggests that these choices are genetic. [25] ******* Not only is the scientific research that tries to prove an inborn nature to homosexuality questionable, but the researchers also fail to take into account the existence of thousands of former homosexuals. If homosexuality were biologically determined, it would seem impossible for homosexuals to become heterosexual. ******* Recently, Dr. Robert Spitzer, one of the men who helped change the American Psychiatric Association's opinion on homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, acknowledged that homosexuals can become heterosexual. In an interview with CitizenLink online newsletter, Spitzer said, "The critics of this kind of therapy don't just argue that it is rarely effective; they argue that it's never effective." ******* Spitzer is interviewing former homosexuals who have left the homosexual lifestyle and have lost their attractions for the same sex. He said, "What we're really trying to see is, 'Are there individuals who give a pretty convincing report that they have changed in a fundamental way their sexual orientation, and has it been sustained for many years? ... I'm personally convinced that many of these individuals have maintained and made major changes in their sexual orientation." [26] ******* CONCLUSION ******* Scientists have not even come close to proving a genetic or biological cause for homosexuality, yet homosexual activists continue to say that sexual activity between members of the same sex is "just the same" as race or gender. Using "biology" as a stamp of legitimacy, activists have pushed for special rights, from sex-partner subsidies to "gay marriage" to adoption. Without scientific evidence to support such claims, it is wrong and dangerously misleading to say that people are born homosexual and cannot change. ******* Yvette C. Schneider, a former lesbian who is now married, is a policy analyst in the cultural studies department at Family Research Council. ******* END NOTES ******* 1. August Gribbin, "Public More Accepting of Gays, Survey Finds: Most Believe Orientation is Genetic," The Washington Times, February 13, 2000. ******* 2. D.H. Hamer, et al., "A Linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation," Science 261 (1993): 321-327. ******* 3. Ibid. ******* 4. Ibid. ******* 5. George Rice, et al., "Male Homosexuality: Absence of Linkage to Microsatellite Markers at Xq28," Science 284 (1999): 665-667. ******* 6. Ibid. ******* 7. William Byne and Bruce Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation: The Biologic Theories Reappraised," Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (March 1993): 228-239. ******* 8. J. Michael Bailey and Richard C. Pillard, "A Genetic Study of Male Sexual Orientation," Archives of General Psychiatry 48 (1991): 1089-1096. ******* 9. J. Michael Bailey, Richard C. Pillard, Michael C. Neale, and Yvonne Agyei, "Heritable Factors Influence Sexual Orientation in Women," Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (March 1993): 217-223. ******* 10. Simon LeVay, "A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men," Science 258 (1991): 1034-1037. ******* 11. L.S. Allen and R.A. Gorski, "Sexual Orientation and the Size of the Anterior Commissure in the Human Brain," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 89 (1992): 7199-7202, cited in Byne and Parsons, op. cit., 235. ******* 12. Dean Hamer and Peter Copeland, Living With Our Genes: Why They Matter More than You Think (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1998), p. 188. ******* 13. Ibid., pp. 188-189. ******* 14. Ibid., p. 189. ******* 15. Angela M.L. Pattatucci and Dean H. Hamer, "Development and Familiarity of Sexual Orientation in Females," Behavior Genetics 25 (1995): 407-19, cited in Hamer, ibid., p. 191. ******* 16. Hamer, ibid. ******* 17. Neil and Briar Whitehead, My Genes Made Me Do It! A Scientific Look at Sexual Orientation (Lafayette, La.: Huntington House Publishers, 1999), p. 209. ******* 18. C. Mann, "Genes and Behavior," Science 264 (1994): 1687. ******* 19. Edward Stein, The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999). ******* 20. Michael Bronski, "Blinded by Science," The Advocate, February 1, 2000, p. 64. ******* 21. Dean Hamer and Peter Copeland, The Science of Desire: The Search for the Gay Gene and the Biology of Behavior (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994). ******* 22. Stein, op. cit., p. 221. ******* 23. David Perlman, "Brain Cell Study Finds Link to Homosexuality Tissue Differs Between Gay and Straight Men," The San Francisco Chronicle, August 30, 1991, p. A1. ******* 24. Stein, op. cit., p. 215. ******* 25. Bronski, op. cit., p. 64. ******* 26. Pete Winn, "A Crack in the Wall? A respected psychiatrist rethinks homosexuality," CitizenLink: Family Issues in Policy and Culture, February 21, 2000, www.family.org/cforum/hotissues/a0009548.html. ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 10 REASONS TO QUESTION HOMOSEXUALITY - POWERFUL EXPERT TESTIMONY IN MASSACHUSETTS ******* Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 ******* From: "Mission America" ******* Here is an ecellent overview of the evidence that homosexuality is not genetic and presents significant social and medical problems. ******* Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, M.D. Testifies In Massachusetts In Defense Of The Family ******* Topic: Constitutional Marriage Amendment ******* Honorable Members, Citizens of Massachusetts: ******* The debate over homosexuality is one of the most contentious and divisive in which our society has ever engaged. On the face of it, one might wonder that so intensely personal and private a matter could achieve such public weight, but wonder aside, it has: In this legislation now under consideration by the State of Massachusetts, all the varying points of that debate come into sharp opposition. As you all know, most keenly, the question before you is not merely one of academic dispute; rather, upon the outcome of your deliberations will depend the foundational social structure, hence direction of the Commonwealth in future, and in significant measure, that of our Nation as well. ******* It is therefore most urgent that these deliberations be based not only on compassion, and justice, but on the factual truth as well. Indeed, unless resting upon truth, neither justice nor compassion can long endure against shifts in sentiment. That as a society we strive no longer to condone - rather to condemn --cruelty toward people attracted to members of their own sex is an absolute requirement of both justice and humanity. But we would be short-sighted indeed were we to advance this, as any other, just cause based on fictions: Not only will the inevitable uncovering of those fictions, however delayed, provide an excuse for bigotry to reclaim its unearned place, it will engender beliefs, attitudes and policies that, by flying in the face of reality, will lead to an increase, rather than a decrease in the happiness all are entitled to pursue. Nature (and if you prefer, "Nature's God") cannot be fooled. ******* A number of claims have become central to the argument that the definition and privileged status of marriage ought be expanded to include couples of the same sex. These claims are: ******* That homosexuality has been repeatedly demonstrated to be, and is in fact, an innate, genetically-determined condition. ******* That homosexuality is an immutable state of an individual. ******* That the only disadvantages of homosexuality are those caused by social disapproval and discrimination. ******* That a society composed of same-sex couples raising children in family-like units will differ from a society composed of traditional family units in no undesirable ways. ******* None of these claims are even remotely true, however widely believed they may have become; the evidence of the kind that "everyone knows" simply does not exist; even a cursory examination of the actual sources behind these claims will reveal a very strong preponderance of evidence to precisely the contrary; the claims are simply fiction. I have below assembled a selection of statements from prominent researchers. A far wider and more comprehensive bibliography of scientific references is provided as an attachment. Most of the statements below have been selected according to three basic principles: ******* (1) They are the general conclusions of prominent scientists whose research is well-respected. ******* (2) The scientists cited have specifically identified themselves as "gay" or "lesbian" and/or as more generally sympathetic to "gay activist" political positions. ******* (3) Their research is precisely that widely cited and believed as providing evidence directly contrary to what they themselves found and acknowledge. (It is to the credit of a number of them that they have publicly acknowledged that their own evidence contradicts what they had believed and had hoped to confirm.) ******* CLAIMS vs. THE EVIDENCE ******* Claim 1. That homosexuality has been repeatedly demonstrated to be, and is in fact, an innate, genetically-determined condition. ******* Dean Hamer of the National Institutes of Health performed and published the research most widely cited as pointing to a "gay gene." Dr. Hamer testified in the Colorado Proposition 2 court case that he was "99.5% certain that homosexuality is genetic." He later came to the following conclusions: ******* "The pedigree failed to produce what we originally hoped to find: simple Mendelian inheritance. In fact, we never found a single family in which homosexuality was distributed in the obvious pattern that Mendel observed..." ******* Hamer's study was duplicated by Rice et al with research that was more robust. In this replication the genetic markers found by Hamer turned out to be of no statistical significance: ******* "It is unclear why our results are so discrepant from Hamer's original study. Because our study was larger than that of Hamer's et al, we certainly had adequate power to detect a genetic effect as large as reported in that study. Nonetheless, our data do not support the presence of a gene of large effect influencing sexual orientation..." ******* Simon LeVay, a neuroanatomist at The Salk Institute in San Diego, founded the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Education in San Francisco after researching and publishing the study of hypothalamic structures in men most widely-cited as confirming innate brain differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals, as he himself initially argued. He later acknowledged: ******* "It's important to stress what I didn't find. I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work. Nor did I locate a gay center in the brain." ******* Furthermore: "Since I looked at adult brains, we don't know if the differences I found were there at birth, or if they appeared later." ******* Also pertinent to the present debate is his observation that: ******* "...people who think that gays and lesbians are born that way are also more likely to support gay rights." ******* Dr. Mark Breedlove at the University of California at Berkeley, referring to his own research: "[My] findings give us proof for what we theoretically know to be the case - that sexual experience can alter the structure of the brain, just as genes can alter it. [I]t is possible that differences in sexual behavior cause (rather than are caused) by differences in the brain." ******* Prominent research teams Byne & Parsons, and Friedman & Downey, both concluded that there was no evidence to support a biologic theory, but rather that homosexuality could be best explained by an alternative model where "temperamental and personality traits interact with the familial and social milieu as the individual's sexuality emerges." ******* Richard Pillard, is the coauthor of the two major twin studies on homosexuality most often cited as providing family evidence for homosexuality being inherited. He noted to an interviewer that he, his brother, and his sister are all homosexual and that one of his daughters from a now-failed marriage is bisexual. He speculated that his father was also homosexual. The interviewer, Chandler Burr, comments re Pillard: "Many. of the scientists who have been studying homosexuality are gay, as am I." The interview is part of a book Burr wrote that purports to demonstrate that virtually all reputable scientists consider homosexuality genetic. ******* This is certainly what Pillard both wanted and expected to confirm by his research: "These studies were designed to detect heritable variation, and if it was present, to counter the prevalent belief that sexual orientation is largely the product of family interactions and the social environment" ******* But that is not what he found. Rather, he concluded: "Although male and female homosexuality appear to be at least somewhat heritable, environment must also be of considerable importance in their origins." ******* Claim 2. That homosexuality is an immutable state of an individual. ******* The 1973 decision to delete homosexuality from the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association has had a chilling effect on scientific objectivity with respect to homosexuality and on both public and professional attitudes concerning its permanence as an individual characteristic. The decision tended to confirm the sentiment that, since homosexuality has been voted out as a formal "disorder," it need not, cannot and should not be "treated", regardless of the principle that in a free society individuals should be free to pursue happiness each according to his own lights, consonant with the well-being of others. ******* But the American Psychiatric Association, like most other professional-practitioner associations, is not a scientific organization. It is a professional guild and as such, amenable to political influence in ways that science per se must not allow itself to be. Thus, the decision to de-list homosexuality was not made based on scientific evidence as is widely claimed. As Simon LeVay (cited above) acknowledges, "Gay activism was clearly the force that propelled the American Psychiatric Association to declassify homosexuality." ******* But of far greater import is the fact that whether it is deemed a "disorder" or not, it is undesirable to many, and susceptible to change. The evidence for this fact should not be obscured by the false assumption that homosexuality is either innate and unchangeable, or a "lifestyle choice" and changeable at will. It is neither: It is most often a deeply- embedded condition that develops over many years, beginning long before the development of moral and self-awareness, and is genuinely experienced by the individual as though it was never absent in one form or another. It is, in other words, similar to most human characteristics, and shares with them the typical possibilities for, and difficulties in, achieving sustained change. ******* A review of the research over many years demonstrates a consistent 30- 52% success rate in the treatment of unwanted homosexual attraction. Masters and Johnson reported a 65% success rate after a five-year follow-up. Other professionals report success rates ranging from 30% to 70%. ******* Dr. Lisa Diamond, a professor at the University of Utah, concludes that, "Sexual identity is far from fixed in women who aren't exclusively heterosexual." ******* Dr. Robert Spitzer, the prominent psychiatrist and researcher at Columbia University has been the chief architect of the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual and he was the chief decision-maker in the 1973 removal of homosexuality from the diagnostic manual. He considers himself a gay-affirmative psychiatrist, and a long time supporter of gay rights. He has long been convinced that homosexuality is neither a disorder nor changeable. Because of the increasingly heated debate over the latter point within the professional community, Spitzer decided to conduct his own study of the matter. He concluded: ******* "I'm convinced from the people I have interviewed, that for many of them, they have made substantial changes toward becoming heterosexual...I think that's news...I came to this study skeptical. I now claim that these changes can be sustained." ******* When he presented his results to the Gay and Lesbian committees of the APA, anticipating a scientific debate, he was shocked to be met with intense pressure to withhold his findings for political reasons. Dr. Spitzer has subsequently received considerable "hate mail" and complaints from his colleagues because of his research. Douglas C. Haldeman, Ph.D., an independent practitioner in Seattle, WA, is a prominent gay-affirmative theorist. He comments, "From the perspective of gay theorists and activists. . . the question of conversion therapy's efficacy, or lack thereof, is irrelevant. It has been seen as a social phenomenon, one that is driven by anti-gay prejudice in society..." ******* Regarding change and the right to treatment, lesbian activist Camille Paglia states the following, in terms considerably sharper than most of us feel comfortable with: "Is the gay identity so fragile that it cannot bear the thought that some people may not wish to be gay? Sexuality is highly fluid, and reversals are theoretically possible. However, habit is refractory, once the sensory pathways have been blazed and deepened by repetition - a phenomenon obvious in the struggle with obesity, smoking, alcoholism or drug addiction...helping gays to learn how to function heterosexually, if they wish, is a perfectly worthy aim." ******* Furthermore, just as locking onto a "choice versus genetic" dichotomy obscures reality, so, too, does locking onto "unchangeable versus therapeutic change." For it is also the case, well-documented but unobserved and unremarked upon, that the majority of "homosexuals" become " heterosexual" spontaneously, without therapy. ******* By way of introduction to the scientific evidence for this, it's worth citing Paglia again: "We should be honest enough to consider whether homosexuality may not indeed be a pausing at the prepubescent stage where children anxiously band together by gender..." ******* The scientific evidence is as follows: The most comprehensive, most recent and most accurate study of sexuality, the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS), was completed in 1994 by a large research team from the University of Chicago and funded by almost every large government agency and NGO with an interest in the AIDS epidemic. They studied every aspect of sexuality, but among their findings is the following, which I'm going to quote for you directly: "7.1 [to as much as 9.1] percent of the men [we studied, more than 1,500] had at least one same-gender partner since puberty. ... [But] almost 4 percent of the men [we studied] had sex with another male before turning eighteen but not after. These men. . . constitute 42 percent of the total number of men who report ever having a same gender experience." ******* Let me put this in context: Roughly ten out of every 100 men have had sex with another man at some time - the origin of the 10% gay myth. Most of these will have identified themselves as gay before turning eighteen and will have acted on it. But by age 18, a full half of them no longer identify themselves as gay and will never again have a male sexual partner. And this is not a population of people selected because they went into therapy; it's just the general population. Furthermore, by age twenty-five, the percentage of gay identified men drops to 2.8%. This means that without any intervention whatsoever, three out of four boys who think they're gay at age l6 aren't by 25. ******* Claim 3. The only disadvantages of homosexuality are those caused by social disapproval and discrimination. ******* To mistakenly support three out of four gay identified men in their identification with homosexuality is not a benign mistake. Bailey (of the twin study) recently examined the question as to whether homosexuality is associated with a higher level of psychopathology. He concluded: "Homosexuality represents a deviation from normal development and is associated with other such deviations that may lead to mental illness.. [ or, another possibility]... that increased psychopathology among homosexual people is a consequence of lifestyle differences associated with sexual orientation." ******* e specifically cited "behavioral risk factors associated with male homosexuality such as receptive anal sex and promiscuity." He noted that it would be a shame if "sociopolitical concerns prevented researchers from conscientious consideration of any reasonable hypothesis." ******* The specific concern in supporting young men in a gay identification is that innumerable studies from major centers around the US and elsewhere note that a twenty-year-old man who identified himself as gay carries 30% (or greater) risk of being HIV positive or dead of AIDS by age 30. A recent Canadian study published concluded that in urban centers gay male identification is associated with a life expectancy comparable to that in Canada in the 1870's. ******* Claim 4. A society composed of same-sex couples raising children in family-like units will differ from a society composed of traditional family units in no undesirable ways. ******* There has recently been an attempt to demonstrate that raising children in a same-sex household has no ill effect. These studies are few in number, none have ever looked at those areas where difficulties would be expected and one of the most repeatedly cited researchers was excoriated by the court for her testimony when she refused to turn over her research notes to the court even at the urging of the ACLU attorneys for whom she was testifying. ******* What is known, from decades of research on family structure, studying literally thousands of children, is that every departure from the traditional, stable, mother-father family has severe detrimental effects upon children; and these effects persist not only into adulthood but into the next generation as well. ******* In short, the central problem with mother-mother or father-father families is that they deliberately institute, and intend to keep in place indefinitely, a family structure known to be deficient in being obligatorily and permanently either fatherless or motherless. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey Satinover, MD is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist. He holds degrees from MIT (S.B., Humanities and Science), Harvard (Ed.M., Clinical Psychology and Public Practice), the University of Texas (M.D.) and Yale (M.S., Physics.) He completed his residency in Psychiatry at Yale with a year as Fellow of The Yale Child Study Center. He holds a Diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C. G. Jung Institute of Zurich. Dr. Satinover has practiced psychotherapy and/or psychiatry since 1974. He is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals of psychology and of neuroscience, chapters and books, among them Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth. ******* His web site is http://www.satinover.com ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 11 CHANGING MINDS ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 ******* The Washington Times, Tuesday, July 27, 2004, Page A2 Changing minds http://www.washtimes.com/culture/ ******* By George Archibald ******* THE WASHINGTON TIMES ******* Former homosexuals who had renounced same-sex relations were called "offensive" by delegates to this month's annual convention of the 2.7-million-member National Education Association (NEA). ******* "I'm really offended that you're even here," a delegate wearing the rainbow emblem of the NEA Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Caucus told a supporter of the new NEA Ex-Gay Educators Caucus. ******* The Ex-Gay Educators Caucus distributed literature explaining that scientific research shows that homosexuality is not "a fixed, inborn trait." Other opponents of the Ex-Gay Educators Caucus, whose exhibit was permitted for the first time at this year's union gathering at the D.C. Convention Center, also challenged the NEA's claim of being democratic and diverse. ******* One delegate who visited the exhibit told caucus members that there was "a special place in hell for us," said caucus founder Jeralee Smith from California, an elementary special-education teacher and former lesbian. ******* She said another NEA delegate remarked, "You might as well set up a Ku Klux Klan booth right next to you." Noé Gutierrez Jr. of California, a former homosexual activist who is now a member of the Ex-Gay Educators Caucus, said the intolerance was a shocking repudiation of anti-prejudice views voiced by advocacy groups and the NEA. ******* "Prejudice is assuming you know someone before you take the time to know them," said Mr. Gutierrez, who was featured as a spokesman in a 1998 Public Broadcasting Service TV special on presenting homosexual issues in the schools. ******* "People made the association between us and gay-bashers," he said. "I mean, they definitely lumped us in with a whole lot of bad and came to our booth with that attitude, not open in any way to learning. Isn't that funny? So at an educators caucus, there is no learning taking place. No one who came to yell at us or who could be angry with us came with an open mind or were ready to learn anything." ******* Opposition to the message of the Ex-Gay Educators Caucus is led by Kevin Jennings, a former private school teacher in Massachusetts and founder of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. Mr. Jennings is a partner with the NEA in promoting acceptance of homosexuality through curriculum materials in the nation's schools as early as kindergarten and elementary grades. He was given the NEA's human rights "creative leadership" award at this year's convention. ******* "Ex-gay messages have no place in our nation's public schools," Mr. Jennings said in a publication of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. "A line has been drawn. There is no 'other side' when you're talking about lesbian, gay and bisexual students." ******* Warren Throckmorton, past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association, disagreed. "Kids want to understand themselves. It's very early in life to make a definition about one's sexual identity. Educators should give kids options to wait awhile, to consider a straight identity if they would rather that," he said. ******* "If you've got teachers in schools telling kids that their same-sex attractions mean they are gay, they could foreclose on the option of waiting awhile to discover their sexual identity and their option to discover their heterosexual potential. The earlier that you decide on a sexual label, the more likely you are to experiment with sex." ******* But homosexual advocates within the NEA and outside groups sent out word that this was an important battle for them. ******* "The two issues that have been at the forefront for us this year have been the 'ex-gay caucus' and the marriage amendment," Tom Nicholas and Cathy Figel, chairmen of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Caucus, said in a message to the convention. "On the ex-gay issue, we are currently working with [NEA] President Reg Weaver to get to the delegates accurate information regarding reparative therapy." ******* The efforts of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Caucus prompted the NEA to distribute to all 9,000 convention delegates copies of a 12-page 1999 brochure produced by the union, "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel." ******* The brochure's central premise is that homosexuality is an inborn and immutable trait. ******* The Ex-Gay Educators Caucus, with Mr. Throckmorton's help, objected to NEA leaders that science does not support that view and persuaded Mr. Weaver to allow them to provide NEA delegates their six-page response titled "Respect and the Facts: How to Have Both in the Sexual Orientation Debate." ******* The NEA printed the response, which stated: "There is no consensus in current research to show that sexual orientation is a fixed, inborn trait. We believe sexual attractions are the product of nature and nurture and that sexual identity is a flexible experience for many people." ******* Miss Smith and Mr. Gutierrez say their own changes in sexual orientation are proof that homosexuality is not embedded in a person at birth. ******* Miss Smith said she became involved in homosexuality as the result of being sexually exploited when she was 15 by a female dean at the private school she attended. She says she might not have pursued homosexuality had it not been for that early experience. ******* "Young people who may not want to embrace the gay identity are not being given any hope," she said. "The stories of people who have not taken that choice are not being revealed, and there's a repression of information on the other side of the [pro-homosexual] viewpoint. And so we have to speak up." ******* Mr. Gutierrez says he "came out" as a homosexual at age 16, but by 24, "I felt empty, I felt dissatisfied, disillusioned." ******* Mr. Gutierrez, the son of a Pentecostal minister, says, "My whole identity had been swallowed up in my gay identity." ******* He says he objects to the way children are taught in schools that homosexuality is all right, but are denied other options for dealing with same-sex attraction as adolescents. The message given in many schools is: "If you're experiencing feelings of same-sex attraction, the only way you're going to be happy is to adopt them into a gay identity," he says. The Ex-Gay Educators Caucus has a different message. "At the very core of our stance is that gays can change, and we want to be there for the student who is unhappy about adopting a gay identity and who very much wants to explore venues toward change, toward being heterosexually identified," Mr. Gutierrez says.### ******* PFOX -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, Box 561, Fort Belvoir VA 22060, 703-360-2225, pfox_exgays@hotmail.com, www.pfox.org ******* To subscribe to this list, send a blank email to: PFOX-subscribe@topica.com ************************************************************************************************************************* ******* item 12 SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 ******* This is a book review of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - STRORIES OF A LESBIAN GENERATION, CHAPTER 6, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY ---- EX-LESBIANS by Arlene Stein, published by University of California, Berkeley ******* In Chapter 6 of her book, Sleeping with the Enemy, feminist/lesbian author and sociology professor Arlene Stein tries to understand the phenomenon of former lesbians. She explores the question if ex-lesbians are “turncoats” (traitors) or “fakers” (never were lesbians to begin with). Stein admits that “[i]ndividuals have always moved from heterosexuality to homosexuality and back again.” She explains that “[m]any women I spoke with, including some of the most politically engaged lesbian feminists, acknowledged that lesbians occasionally stray from homosexuality, and they felt this to be acceptable, as long as it didn’t happen so often as to threaten their lesbian identities.” ******* One lesbian from San Francisco explains: “The women who were the biggest manhaters, the women who would have nothing to do with men for years – those where the women who went straight. It was true every single time. Nearly every single time. They were the ones that raised the biggest fuss about men. The harder they come, the harder they fall.” ******* Stein herself explains that “in the process of becoming lesbians, many women had earlier engaged in ‘identity work,’ becoming more masculinized, ‘butchier,’ modeling themselves on the way they believed the ‘typical’ lesbian looked. In a reversal of this process, in their transition to heterosexuality, many women refashioned themselves as more feminine.” For example, during the last few years of her lesbian relationship, now ex-lesbian Laura Stone began to dress differently – “I hadn’t worn a dress in eons. I began to get more comfortable with my femme identity, and when I did, I began to get more in touch with desire in general. I began to fantasize about men again.” ******* Laura “remembered that while she had ‘pretty good experiences with men compared to other lesbians,’ at the time she ‘didn’t treasure that knowledge,’ instead viewing it as evidence of the vestiges of her own internalized homophobia.” ******* Another former lesbian, Sharon Lieberman, “questions whether she would have chosen lesbianism had a movement not come along to make that choice easier and indeed, in some quarters, even desirable. For her, becoming a lesbian was a product of being young and open to new experiences. She attributed her lesbian past to the convergence of lesbian feminist politics and her stage of life.” ******* Stein feels that “[m]any women who came out through feminism believed that everyone was naturally bisexual in terms of their potential sexual attraction to both men and women, but that it was the political responsibility of women to channel their desires toward other women.” ******* The author concludes her chapter, Sleeping with the Enemy, with the remark that both homosexuals and heterosexuals impose “prohibitions against moving in and out of the lesbian category.” ******* ### PFOX -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, Box 561, Fort Belvoir VA USA 22060 ******* phone: 703-360-2225 ******* email: pfox_exgays@hotmail.com ******* web site: www.pfox.org ******* To subscribe to this list of ex-gay news and views, send a blank email to: PFOX-subscribe@topica.com ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 13 ONE PERCENT OF CANADIANS SAY THEY'RE HOMOSEXUAL - CTV.ca News Staff ******* Tue. Jun. 15 2004 ******* A new Statistics Canada health survey is the first to try to measure the sexual orientation of the population, but critics say the numbers are far lower than the truth. ******* According to figures from the Canadian Community Health Survey, released Tuesday, one per cent of Canadians say they are homosexual and another 0.7 per cent identify themselves as bisexual. ******* Along gender lines, the breakdown was 1.3 per cent of men and 0.7 per cent of women who identified themselves as homosexual and 0.9 per cent of women and 0.6 per cent of men who said they were bisexual. ******* But gay rights activists say the numbers are likely much higher -- somewhere in the five to 10 per cent range. ******* Claiming that people are more likely to answer questions about identity than behaviour, the StatsCan survey measured homosexuality by self-identification rather than by the reporting of homosexual acts. ******* "What's clear is that there is under-reporting," Laurie Arron, director of advocacy for the gay-rights group Egale, told The Canadian Press. ******* Critics of the survey say there is reluctance in the gay community to disclose sexual information in a government survey. ******* Among those who were willing to come out in the survey, Quebec reported the highest number of homosexuals or bisexuals -- with 2.3 per cent identifying with one or the other. British Columbia followed at 1.9 per cent, New Brunswick with 1.6 per cent and Ontario at 1.5 per cent. But StatsCan urged caution when examining the N.B. numbers because the number of respondents was quite low. ******* By age group, two per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 identified themselves as gay or bisexual, followed by 1.9 per cent of those 35-44 and 1.2 per cent of people ages 45-59. ******* The survey also compared health-related measurements among homo- and bisexual populations and heterosexual Canadians. ******* Among individuals aged 18 to 59, 21.8 per cent of homosexuals and bisexuals reported having unmet health care needs compared to 12.7 per cent of heterosexuals. ******* More than 31 per cent of homosexuals and bisexuals reported being physically active, compared to 25.4 per cent of heterosexuals. ******* The Canadian Community Health Survey, which is based on information collected from 135,000 people aged 12 and older across the country, also looked at issues such as smoking, obesity and access to primary health care. ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 14 Book Review: IF YOU SEDUCE A STRAIGHT PERSON CAN YOU MAKE THEM GAY? By Dr. John De Cecco ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 03:31:44 +0000 ******* Dr. John De Cecco (pronounced de-CHECK-o) is a gay psychologist, the Director of the Center for Research and Education in Sexuality at San Francisco State University. He is also the editor of the Journal of Homosexuality. De Cecco calls himself “gay” but insists that such attractions are a changeable “preference,” not an “orientation.” ******* De Cecco says that he and other experts in human sexuality have observed such variability throughout individuals’ lives that they could not possibly be born one way, unable to change. In his book, If You Seduce A Straight Person Can You Make Them Gay?, De Cecco and other scientists answer this question with an unequivocal “Yes, you can!” and present scientific evidence for their conclusion. ******* One such man who was carefully studied, identified by the code name “D,” had heterosexual feelings, fantasies, dreams and sex until age 27 at which time he experimented sexually with a gay man. By four years later, his behavior, feelings, fantasies and dreams were almost exclusively homosexual. (If You Seduce A Straight Person Can You Make Them Gay?, ed. By Dr. John De Cecco; New York: Harrington Park Press, 1993, pgs. 129-130) ******* The scientific conclusion reached for such evidence: “…shows that life-long, exclusive homosexuality, as articulated by gay rhetoric, is more a statement about the culture in which it occurs than the ‘essence’ of homosexuality.” (Ibid., pg. 125) ******* The idea that people are born one way and cannot change is flatly wrong. As this gay scientist—Dr. De Cecco—says, this born-able/characteristic idea is just “gay and lesbian politics” and is aimed at achieving gay rights. (Ibid., pgs. 17-18) __________________________________ A copy of this article is available online at: http://www.pfox.org/asp/newsman/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=202&zoneid=10 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To subscribe to this list of ex-gay news and views, send a blank email to: Ex-Gays-subscribe@topica.com ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 15 BILLBOARDS, COUNSELLORS AND EX-GAYS: LET IT SHINE ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 ******* By Warren Throckmorton, PhD ******* Recently controversy has erupted in Rockville, Maryland and Houston, Texas over billboard advertising concerning the right of people to seek change in homosexuality. The Rockville billboard sponsored by Parents and Friends of Ex-gays and Gays (PFOX) shows the picture of a young man with the caption: "Ex-gays prove change is possible." The Houston billboards were backed by Exodus International and contain similar messages. Predictably, homosexual activists have been swift to denounce them. ******* In a recent Washington Times article, Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland is quoted saying, "If it wasn't so sad that people are spending so much money, energy and time that could be used on something constructive, like dealing with tsunami victims, it would be ludicrous." I wonder if Mr. Furmansky would take kindly to a similar suggestion that he donate his organization's budget to the tsunami relief effort. ******* To be sure, change in sexuality is nearly as controversial as gay marriage or what to teach about homosexuality in schools. Organizations such as the National Mental Health Association have suggested that all such efforts are harmful, saying in their brochure, What Does Gay Mean?, "…attempts "cure" lesbians and gay men may help change sexual behavior temporarily but will also create emotional trauma." Despite research to the contrary, groups such as the NMHA routinely make these pronouncements. ******** On the other hand, a major mental health organization, the American Counseling Association (ACA) recently went on record to defend the right of people to determine whether or not they should seek change. Based in Alexandria, VA, the ACA along with its divisions represents the interests of professionals ranging from school to career counselors. ******* In reply to a question from Rev. D. L. Foster of Atlanta GA, Larry T. Freeman, MA, LPC, Manager, Ethics and Professional Standards for the ACA affirmed a client's right to self-determination as it relates to seeking counseling to change sexual identity. Pastor Foster asked the ACA in a letter: "I am interested to know if the ACA's Code of Ethics A.2.B is applicable to clients who seek to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual." ******* Mr. Freeman's verbatim response is as follows: "In response to your inquiry below regarding whether Section A.2. Respecting Diversity. b. Respecting Differences; is applicable to clients who seek to change their sexual orientation. Yes, this code applies to any one who feels or perceives themselves as struggling with an issue that impacts negatively the quality and comfort of their daily life. The key word here is client, it is the client that approaches the counselor and gives consent to be treated. If one's sexual orientation is not an issue to them, it should not be an issue for the counselor. However, if it is, then the person(s) should have the freedom of choice to seek appropriate treatment for it; what ever the issue(s) may be. If what the client is experiencing is not in the training or education of the counselor a referral is suggested to the client, so they can receive the proper treatment that meets their counseling needs." ******* When I asked Rev. Foster how he viewed the ACA statement, he said, "As a Pastor and one who has experienced satisfying change in my own sexual orientation, I welcome this wise and balanced response which truly values diversity and a client's right to self determination." ******* However, I have talked to colleagues who have asked, in effect, what is the big deal here? Why does it matter what the ACA says? Why do ex-gays have to put up billboards? And why go by the identity ex-gay? People are not ex-liberals, they are conservatives, right? ******* My answer is that no one disputes the existence of ex-liberals, or even ex-Michael Moore fans. However, the very existence of ex-gays is routinely and systematically denied by gay activists and often those in the mental health professions. The term ex-gay denotes a process of transformation maligned and doubted by many. That is why the ACA statement is so encouraging to them. ******* On this point, Rev. Foster said, "It is gratifying to know that struggling men and women seeking changes to sexual feelings won't be relegated to second class status in the mental health field simply because they want to live happier, fulfilling lives." ******* Many ex-gays are recognizing that the only way to get the message out about their own existence is to become increasingly vocal and visible. The more the gay activist community denies their existence, the more public they will become. ******* Ex-gays such as Rev. Foster are taking seriously the song learned as kids: "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Columnist Warren Throckmorton, PhD is Associate Professor of Psychology at Grove City College (PA). His columns have been published in over 60 newspapers. He is the producer of the documentary, I Do Exist concerning sexual orientation change (www.idoexist.com ). ******* A copy of this article is available online at: http://www.pfox.org/asp/newsman/templates/newstemplate.asp? articleid=203&zoneid=8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To subscribe to this list of ex-gay news and views, send a blank email to: Ex-Gays-subscribe@topica.com ************************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 16 TRANSGENDERISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER ******* From: "PFOX" ******* Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 ******* Surgical Sex by Dr. Paul McHugh ******* Paul McHugh is University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. ******* Copyright (c) 2004 First Things 147 (November 2004): 34-38. ******* When the practice of sex-change surgery first emerged back in the early 1970s, I would often remind its advocating psychiatrists that with other patients, alcoholics in particular, they would quote the Serenity Prayer, “God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Where did they get the idea that our sexual identity (“gender” was the term they preferred) as men or women was in the category of things that could be changed? ******* Their regular response was to show me their patients. Men (and until recently they were all men) with whom I spoke before their surgery would tell me that their bodies and sexual identities were at variance. Those I met after surgery would tell me that the surgery and hormone treatments that had made them “women” had also made them happy and contented. None of these encounters were persuasive, however. The post-surgical subjects struck me as caricatures of women. They wore high heels, copious makeup, and flamboyant clothing; they spoke about how they found themselves able to give vent to their natural inclinations for peace, domesticity, and gentleness—but their large hands, prominent Adam’s apples, and thick facial features were incongruous (and would become more so as they aged). Women psychiatrists whom I sent to talk with them would intuitively see through the disguise and the exaggerated postures. “Gals know gals,” one said to me, “and that’s a guy.” ******* The subjects before the surgery struck me as even more strange, as they struggled to convince anyone who might influence the decision for their surgery. First, they spent an unusual amount of time thinking and talking about sex and their sexual experiences; their sexual hungers and adventures seemed to preoccupy them. Second, discussion of babies or children provoked little interest from them; indeed, they seemed indifferent to children. But third, and most remarkable, many of these men-who-claimed-to-be-women reported that they found women sexually attractive and that they saw themselves as “lesbians.” When I noted to their champions that their psychological leanings seemed more like those of men than of women, I would get various replies, mostly to the effect that in making such judgments I was drawing on sexual stereotypes. ******* Until 1975, when I became psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, I could usually keep my own counsel on these matters. But once I was given authority over all the practices in the psychiatry department I realized that if I were passive I would be tacitly co-opted in encouraging sex-change surgery in the very department that had originally proposed and still defended it. I decided to challenge what I considered to be a misdirection of psychiatry and to demand more information both before and after their operations. ******* Two issues presented themselves as targets for study. First, I wanted to test the claim that men who had undergone sex-change surgery found resolution for their many general psychological problems. Second (and this was more ambitious), I wanted to see whether male infants with ambiguous genitalia who were being surgically transformed into females and raised as girls did, as the theory (again from Hopkins) claimed, settle easily into the sexual identity that was chosen for them. These claims had generated the opinion in psychiatric circles that one’s “sex” and one’s “gender” were distinct matters, sex being genetically and hormonally determined from conception, while gender was culturally shaped by the actions of family and others during childhood. ******* The first issue was easier and required only that I encourage the ongoing research of a member of the faculty who was an accomplished student of human sexual behavior. The psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Jon Meyer was already developing a means of following up with adults who received sex-change operations at Hopkins in order to see how much the surgery had helped them. He found that most of the patients he tracked down some years after their surgery were contented with what they had done and that only a few regretted it. But in every other respect, they were little changed in their psychological condition. They had much the same problems with relationships, work, and emotions as before. The hope that they would emerge now from their emotional difficulties to flourish psychologically had not been fulfilled. ******* We saw the results as demonstrating that just as these men enjoyed cross-dressing as women before the operation so they enjoyed cross-living after it. But they were no better in their psychological integration or any easier to live with. With these facts in hand I concluded that Hopkins was fundamentally cooperating with a mental illness. We psychiatrists, I thought, would do better to concentrate on trying to fix their minds and not their genitalia. ******* Thanks to this research, Dr. Meyer was able to make some sense of the mental disorders that were driving this request for unusual and radical treatment. Most of the cases fell into one of two quite different groups. One group consisted of conflicted and guilt-ridden homosexual men who saw a sex-change as a way to resolve their conflicts over homosexuality by allowing them to behave sexually as females with men. The other group, mostly older men, consisted of heterosexual (and some bisexual) males who found intense sexual arousal in cross-dressing as females. As they had grown older, they had become eager to add more verisimilitude to their costumes and either sought or had suggested to them a surgical transformation that would include breast implants, penile amputation, and pelvic reconstruction to resemble a woman. ******* Further study of similar subjects in the psychiatric services of the Clark Institute in Toronto identified these men by the auto-arousal they experienced in imitating sexually seductive females. Many of them imagined that their displays might be sexually arousing to onlookers, especially to females. This idea, a form of “sex in the head” (D. H. Lawrence), was what provoked their first adventure in dressing up in women’s undergarments and had eventually led them toward the surgical option. Because most of them found women to be the objects of their interest they identified themselves to the psychiatrists as lesbians. The name eventually coined in Toronto to describe this form of sexual misdirection was “autogynephilia.” Once again I concluded that to provide a surgical alteration to the body of these unfortunate people was to collaborate with a mental disorder rather than to treat it. ******* Read the rest of this article at: http://www.pfox.org/asp/newsman/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=216&zoneid=6 ******* To subscribe to this list of ex-gay news and views, send a blank email to: Ex-Gays-subscribe@topica.com ************************************************************************************************************************

Links to other sites on the Web

(YF3a) resisting homosexual sex
(YF3b) Conservative Educators Caucus web site
(YF3c) AIDS
(YF3d) P.A.T.H. (positive alternatives to homosexuality)
(YF3e) homosexual sex
(YF) home page

Who are your true friends: those who tell you what you want to hear or those who tell you what they really think? ***************************************************************** The following warning is a prophetic message given to me (Frank Wagner) in November of 1974. ******* LISTEN TO THE CRY OF THE ABORTED CHILDREN. THEIR CRY IS NO. THEIR CRY IS A CRY OF TERROR. HEED THEIR CRY. ******* This prophecy is now being fulfilled. ******* For details about the source, meaning and fulfillment of this prophetic message go to ******* http://www.oocities.org/abortedchildren/index.html ***************************************************************** Check out some of my other sites: ******* http://www.oocities.org/fwagner12/index.html (Vancouver Youth Alliance) ******* http://www.oocities.org/fwagner6/index.htm (Vancouver ex-gay alternatives club) ***************************************************************** email me (Frank Wagner) at friendsofexgays@yahoo.ca